Growing up again in a world of royal splendour wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I wished for "loving parents and a happy life."
But, hey, I should've known better when a goddess made me that offer. The universe was never going to give me an average second chance. Instead, I got born into royalty. And not just any royalty—I'm talking fancy palace on a private island kind of royalty.
But let's rewind a bit.
I'm about two years old now—barely able to string a sentence together without sounding like a drunk baby goat—and I've just learned a couple of vital things about my new life.
First off, my name is Aiden Wilhelm Fritz. Pretty posh, right? I mean, "Wilhelm"? Sounds like I should be riding into battle on a horse or something. But that's just the beginning.
It turns out my dad is none other than King Maximilian Otto Fritz, and my mum, the lively whirlwind of energy, is Queen Eleanor Amalia Fritz. Oh, and I have an older sister, Princess Seraphina Victoria Fritz, who is about four years older than me.
Yep. I'm a prince now. Prince Aiden of Paradis. Which, as it turns out, is not just a fancy name, but a literal island nation in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Cool, right?
Well, it would be, except the name "Fritz" is gnawing at me. I know I've heard that name before. And Paradis... I swear, that rings a bell too. But for the life of me, I can't quite place it. There's this uneasy feeling like I'm missing something crucial, but every time I try to remember, it slips away like sand through my fingers. Probably nothing important, right?
Anyway, let's talk about my new family.
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Dad (King Maximilian Otto Fritz):
Okay, picture a giant bear, but in a fancy cape and crown. That's my dad. He's huge. Not just in a "tall" way, but in a "could snap a tree in half with his bare hands" kind of way. The guy's got muscles on muscles, and every time he walks into a room, he booms.
"AH, MY SON!" he'll bellow, scooping me up like I'm a sack of potatoes. "LOOK AT HIM, ELEANOR! HE'S GONNA BE AS STRONG AS ME ONE DAY!"
I mean, Dad's a bit dramatic, but I guess when you're the king, that's allowed. He's proud—like, *really proud—of our family, of the kingdom, of everything. He'll often stand on the palace balcony and declare things like, "THIS KINGDOM SHALL BE THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD!" while flexing.
I'm not even exaggerating. The man loves a good flex.
But despite his loud, imposing nature, he's also surprisingly kind. Once, I saw him help one of the palace servants carry an enormous basket of fruit, all while giving them a pep talk about believing in themselves. It was weirdly touching, in a King Max way. He's like a giant teddy bear—if teddy bears had six-packs.
Mum (Queen Eleanor Amalia Fritz):
And then there's Mum. If Dad's the muscle, Mum's the energy. She's always buzzing around the palace, talking to everyone, getting involved in everything, and generally being the life of the party.
But don't let that fool you—she's incredibly sweet and loving, too. She'll sit with me for hours, playing silly games, or just talking to me like I'm already a grown adult.
She's got this amazing ability to make everyone feel special, and she never runs out of energy.
"Oh, Aiden, darling! You're getting so big!" she'll say, tickling me until I'm squealing in a fit of giggles. "One day, you'll be the most charming prince in the kingdom! Maybe even more charming than your father!"
To which Dad will inevitably respond with, "NOT MORE CHARMING THAN ME, OF COURSE!" and start flexing again. Every. Single. Time.
Mum's also got this quirky habit of spontaneously dancing in the hallways. Like, out of nowhere. You'll just be walking down the hall, and suddenly she's twirling around with one of the maids, laughing and making everyone join in.
It's actually kind of fun, but also a bit... much for someone like me, who's still emotionally processing reincarnation trauma.
Seraphina (aka "Sera"):
Now, my sister Seraphina. She's basically your stereotypical older sibling. She's four years older than me and absolutely knows it. Sera loves bossing me around—not in a mean way, but in that older sibling, "I-know-better-than-you" kind of way.
"Don't eat that, Aiden. It's not royal food," she'll say, yanking a biscuit out of my hand.
Or, "Aiden, you're supposed to bow *like this*," and then she'll demonstrate with a flourish that I swear takes longer than it should.
But for all her know-it-all tendencies, Sera's not so bad. She actually seems to like me, which, considering I'm a drooling two-year-old, is a pretty big deal.
Sometimes she even sneaks me sweets when Mum and Dad aren't looking, which automatically puts her in the "good sibling" category.
---
So, that's my royal family. A loud, loving, slightly quirky bunch of people. They seem pretty great, all things considered, but I can't shake this weird feeling.
Every time I hear "Fritz" or "Paradis," it's like my brain's trying to tell me something, but I just can't quite grasp it. It's like when you walk into a room and forget why you're there, except this is more existential.
There are moments when I wonder if I'll ever fully accept this life. My old life is still in the back of my mind—my parents, the loss, the tragedy. I know I wished for a loving family, and I got one, but part of me wonders if I'll ever be able to truly love them the way I loved my old family.
It feels like cheating, somehow, like I'm betraying my old mum and dad by moving on.
But then, I look at Mum and Dad—at their goofy quirks, at the way they love each other, at how they've already accepted me fully—and I start to think maybe it's okay.
Maybe I can love them too, in a different way.
Or maybe I'm just overthinking it because I'm a reincarnated prince in an island kingdom that feels suspiciously familiar.
Whatever the case, one thing's for sure: this is definitely not the peaceful, simple life I was expecting.
But hey, at least there's always dancing.
---
As I got older—well, three years old now, which is still basically a glorified baby—I started to notice things about Paradis that seemed a bit... off. Not in a bad way, necessarily. More like, "huh, this place feels strangely familiar" off.
I mean, first off, the island itself is ridiculously beautiful. We're talking white sandy beaches, crystal-clear water, and lush forests that stretch as far as the eye can see. Paradise, basically.
Not that I could enjoy it fully, seeing as I was still wobbling around on chubby little legs and struggling to communicate with more than garbled baby sounds.
But as my vocabulary started to improve, so did my understanding of the world I was in. For instance, I realised that everybody in this kingdom seemed to know who I was.
Not just in the "oh, he's the prince" kind of way, but more like they genuinely cared about what I was up to.
"Good morning, Prince Aiden!" the guards would say as I toddled past them in the courtyard.
"Ah, Prince Aiden, would you like another sweet roll?" the kitchen staff would ask as I wandered into the dining hall (which, of course, the answer was always yes).
And don't even get me started on the maids. Every time I stumbled into one of them, they'd dote on me like I was some kind of tiny god.
One time, I tripped on my way to the library, and within seconds, four maids swooped in to scoop me up, brush off my clothes, and offer me cookies. It was nice, but also a little overwhelming.
But none of this was what bothered me. What bothered me was the name Fritz. And the name Paradis. The more I heard them, the more this gnawing sensation grew in my chest, like my brain was screaming at me, "You KNOW this! You KNOW why it sounds familiar!"
And then, one day, it hit me.
I was sitting in the palace library, trying to wrap my three-year-old brain around a picture book, when Sera, my older sister, came waltzing in.
"Did you hear, Aiden?" she said, dramatically flopping onto a nearby chaise. "Dad says we might be getting visitors from the mainland soon. Mainland. How quaint. Imagine not living on an island as perfect as Paradis."
"Mainland?" I echoed, mostly because I was three and still had to parrot things to understand them better.
"Yes, mainland. You know, the rest of the world," Sera said, rolling her eyes in that exasperated older-sister way. "Honestly, Aiden, you should really start paying attention."
I ignored her condescending tone because something clicked in my head when she mentioned the mainland. Mainland. Paradis. Fritz. It all came together in one horrifying flash.
Wait... wait a minute.
I dropped the picture book, my tiny hands shaking. The gnawing feeling turned into a full-blown mental earthquake. Paradis. Fritz. This wasn't just any island kingdom. This wasn't just a coincidence.
This was Attack on Titan.
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